Labour shortage and demand is getting acute in an already streched private sector in most Caribbean Countries.

1. The Urgency for Employers to
Work with Training Institutions
CARICOM EDUCATION FOR EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM
INDUSTRY LINKAGES FORUM
March 17 and 18, 2014
Hilton Hotel
Port-of-Spain, Trinidad
Janel P. Phillip
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2. The context…
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“Conversations with Business Leaders – The
Labour Supply Shortage”

3. The context…
 Hosted by TTCIC
 27 Industry Leaders
and experts
 July 2013
 Energy, Agriculture,
Food, Hospitality,
Banking, Retail,
Manufacturing,
Employer Reps
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“Conversations with Business Leaders
The Labour Supply Shortage”

4. Concerned Industry Leaders – The Drivers
 Work permits & Immigration – expatriates
 Limited evidence of net in/out migration
 Consultants, geologists, supervisors decrease
 Significant skills shortage in 20-29 age group
by 2021 – major implications for retail,
manufacturing and construction
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5. Concerned Industry Leaders
 Skills shortage for persons under 30 years
 CSME/CVQ problems
 Non Returning Nationals on Scholarships
 Social issues – drug testing
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6. Concerned Industry Leaders
 Competition with CEPEP/URP
 Attitude of the “new” workforce
 “discouraged graduate” -a graduate unable to find a job
in the chosen field of study despite years of arduous
study
 Unwillingness to work in industries with minimum pay
and long working hours
 No strategic plan as to how are going to face the
future
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7. Concerned Industry Leaders
 Leader in Hospitality Industry
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8. Concerned Industry Leaders
 Leader in Food Industry
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9. Concerned Industry Leaders
 Leader in Manufacturing
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10. Concerned Industry Leaders
 Leader in Services Sector
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11. Flaws in TVET System
 Little or nothing said about the form the skill
training takes
 Little is said the quality of education (behavior +
knowledge + skill) required
 Little is said about the qualifications and requires
of the facilitators to meet the need of the
occupational standards
 There is an assumption that there is a relationship
between education, qualification, training and
productivity.
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12. Flaws in TVET System
 What are the Key Result Indicators?
 Who checks the value of investment decision?
 Who are we comparing ourselves to determine
success?
 Who checks how productive the workforce is?
 Who really knows ?
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13. Recent Reports
 Growth in most sectors are slowing down
 Productivity in the Region is slowing down
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14. Recent Reports - Energy
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15. Recent Reports
 Jobs in demand:
 E/I Technicians
 Mechanical Technicians
 Riggers
 Emergency Responders
 Divers
 Administrative Staff
According to NTA Report - 2013
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16. Recent Reports
 Girls still outperform boys in Primary and
Secondary School
 More Girls than boys enroll at Tertiary
Educational Institutions
 More Women attaining jobs than boys by
more than 40% in some sectors
 More Part-Time/Contract employment than
Fulltime employment
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17. Recent Reports
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18. Recent Reports
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19. Recent Reports
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20. Recent Reports - Agriculture
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21. Recent Reports - Manufacturing
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22. Recent Reports - Manufacturing
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23. Weak Occupational Labour Market
 As in France and other countries in this region
the occupational standards are not high
priority or known;
 In Germany and Brazil the firm has less scope
to define the requirements of the job so the
recruitment is heavily weighted on
qualifications
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24. Weak Occupational Labour Market
 We are not close to there yet so why are we
hiring based on qualifications and one interviews
 Employers should be hiring for skill, attitude,
value match and qualifications…weighted in that
order.
 In Trinidad and the rest of the Caribbean Training
related credentials do not have the same impact
in structuring a worker’s career as in Brazil and
Germany.
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25. Societal Theory on Skill Acquisition
Skill Formation
Education
System
Training
System
Industry
Structures
C&F
Needs
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26. State Obligation
 It is not the in
Education and Training or the amount that is
delivered to determine skills levels and
productivity but also the way in which that
education is structured, both the form and
content, is important.
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27. State Obligation
 Encourage more training programs
similar to the POWERGEN model.
 Pooling industries to design programs.
 Use URP/CEPEP financing to subsidise hospitality
companies to make labour compensation.
 Under CEPEP divert applicants to the
hospitality/construction/agriculture
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28. State Obligation
 Free movement of labour – unskilled & semi
skilled labours CSME
 Develop clear KPIs for productivity , measure
and report
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29. State Obligation
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30. State Obligation
 Provide positive measures to stimulate
investment and participation in training;
 Educate, Educate, Educate
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31. Employers Obligation
 A productive system of development can only
develop when
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32. Employers Obligation
 Without strong institutional support by
employers we are left without a highly
educated workforce, a indication of our
wealth. In the end you are incapable of
competing in global market.
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33. Employer Obligations
 Educate, Educate, Educate
 Participate Fully in Research and Sponsor
 Develop more innovative remuneration
packages
 Take a inward look and treat workers with
respect
 Respect the law (Osh Act, EOA, IRA…)
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34. Thank you
Janel P. Phillip
jphillip@powergen.co.tt
Linkedin | Facebook| Twitter|
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